For many it has no meaning, others do not leave the house without having collected the information it suggests and there are those who, on the other hand, joke about it. No, we're not talking about the latest news or the meme page of the day, but about astrology.
Astrology has ancient roots, is based on in-depth studies and research, but for some time, with the violent advent of social media, it has become a trend. The phenomenon, because this is what it is, has seen an exponential growth especially in recent years; that is, from the moment when the generation of millennials (protagonists of the digital age) began to take an interest in the planets, the stars and their positioning, starting not only to read publications but also to download apps or consult websites.
Old-fashioned astrology becomes “pop astrology”, something popular, common, but absolutely different from traditional astrology.
But let's take a step back.
How, when and why has astrology become such a widespread and central phenomenon in our lives?
If before astrology was relegated to small TV appearances or short stories published in the last pages of the city newspaper, with social media the paradigm has completely changed. What was previously hidden has slowly made its way onto the portable screens of people all over the world. Those few lines of the newspaper have begun to be enjoyed by several subjects. And so even the most skeptical with a smartphone began to peek at Brezsny's last words or wonder, if only out of curiosity, if Mercury was retrograde.
From there everything has been downhill. Not only “professional astrologers” began to be present on the scene, but also profiles of creators, mostly young people, who began to deal with the subject more and more frequently, thus attracting thousands and thousands of followers.
Online magazines have begun to give more and more visibility to the study of signs, the alignment of the planets and to dispense advice based on the zodiac sign.
One of the most significant testimonies was, for example, the fashion platform The Cut which, since 2017, the year in which it introduced the horoscope section, has obtained 150% more visits. Of this 150%, a large share, more than half, is represented by millennials, the generation that more than others has begun to take an interest in astrology, the generation that has experienced the highlight of the leap from paper to digital.
Each content seems to be created for them, from the most ironic memes, to the t-shirts dedicated to the zodiac sign. Everything seems to speak their language. The winning contents are many and present in many profiles, not necessarily mainstream.
In Italy there are companies such as @concettamagazine, which likes to match famous faces in fashion with the zodiac signs; or profiles such as the most “famous astrologer and charismatic leader” @lumpa23, who talks about the zodiac signs on the edge between irony and the harsh truth (my dear sisters and brothers of Scorpio I feel you, we are always mistreated).
Then there are the more “classic” astrologers who have tried to renew themselves, like Antonio Capitani, whose horoscopes are a mix of seriousness and irony about our mostly “swine” condition. And then, among the most innovative technologies, and now the most popular of the moment, I would almost dare to say The Bible of astrology, there is the Co-Star app, a social network dedicated entirely to the zodiac signs and the specifics concerning them. From the positions of the sun and moon, to the descriptions of the peculiarities of each sign and ascendant, passing through the birth chart.
Visualizza questo post su Instagram
The theme of astrology, however, also leaves great doubts for many, regarding this great success among millennials.
There has been much discussion and even research as to why there is this frenzy and this interest.
Many attribute this attachment to the vicissitudes of their zodiac sign, to a lack of certainty on the part of young people, of the paranoid generation, who would feel the need to have confirmation from someone or something else, that everything will be fine and that if something happens , it will happen for some drawings already written.
The real problem lies right here. If I read the horoscope to feel safer, where is the catch? In what I do or in the fact that I live in a society that leads me to look for something outside to be able to cheer me up?
Well, the burden of responding and analyzing this psycho-anthropological dilemma is yours.
We can only say that there are those who believe in horoscopes and astrology in general and those who, at least a little, lie.
.jpg)